You can steam chicken directly over water, but better, in my opinion, is to steam the chicken, along with the flavorful juices of wine, tomato, oil, or stock, in a wrapped package in the oven. This method—traditionally called cooking en papillote—is simple and foolproof. It’s also impressive to serve individual packages at the table, using either parchment paper or aluminum foil to wrap the chicken and its seasonings. Easier still, if not quite as attractive, is to combine everything in a covered glass or ceramic baking dish.

Other protein you can use in this recipe: any cutlets—pork, veal, or turkey.

It’s amazing how quickly you can whip up this batter. Store it, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Adjust the consistency of the batter with either more milk or more flour as you like. Recipe from How to Cook Everything.

There are as many ways to make this as there are to make fried chicken, and they’re all pretty good. This version is stripped to its bare essentials: onion, chicken, and rice. You can add peas, red pepper, tomato, seasonings like bay leaves and allspice—well, see the variation for a more complex version. Stock makes the best cooking liquid, but the commonly used water works well, because as it simmers with the chicken they combine to produce a flavorful broth, which is in turn absorbed by the rice.

Saffron is not essential here, though it is welcome. More often than not, though, people make arroz con pollo with turmeric or annatto oil, which are more about color than flavor; the dish is customarily yellow. Take your pick.

Skate used to be a royal pain in the neck—it’s nearly impossible for home cooks to get the skin off—but now that almost all skate is filleted before it comes to market, we can simply sauté it just like any other fillets. Skate browns beautifully, which sets up this impressive pan sauce based on the classic beurre noisette, or “brown butter.” The honey helps balance the acidity of the capers and lends complexity.

Other seafood you can use: halibut (steaks or fillets), sea bass, red snapper, grouper, or other sturdy, white-fleshed fish, thick or thin; adjust the cooking time accordingly.

Now that the weather has finally cooled down enough to use the oven again, I’ve been in the mood to bake. With apples and pears coming into season, choosing a dessert wasn’t very difficult. Apples may be the standard fruit for a crisp, but pears are a particularly good candidate because they tend to get a little beaten up between the market and home, and this is a great use for any that become mushy.

This was my first time cooking with cardamom, which is a really unique spice, as it turns out. It isn’t sweet like cinnamon is, but still gives off that warm, comforting aroma. I actually sprinkled in about &frac12; teaspoon of cinnamon with the pears too, for some extra flavor and sweetness. The crisp topping is perfect as is, and as noted in the instructions, it certainly can be made without an electric mixer if you don’t have one. I creamed the butter and sugar with a fork, and, though a bit labor-intensive, it worked well.

Visualize a stovetop paella served upside down, the gorgeous crust sitting on top. Made with rice, potatoes, or anything else that browns and sticks to the bottom of a pot—and given the fact that the recipe actually directs that you simply walk away (you’ll ruin it if you don’t)—stuck-pot rice is one of the easiest ways to get an impressive rice dish on the table.

Use brown basmati rice here if you like. The kernels will be slightly less starchy than with white basmati rice, but the flavor will be deep and delicious. Take the time to line the pot lid with a clean towel. This absorbs water so the condensation from the lid doesn’t drip back into the rice.

This is your go-to recipe for everyday winter squash; it will work with any variety, but I usually turn to butternut because it’s so much easier to deal with than all the others. Once you peel and cut the squash, you braise it in a small amount of liquid, then boil off the remaining moisture to glaze it. Other vegetables you can use: any winter squash (except spaghetti), though they will all be more difficult to cut and peel than butternut.